Collapsible shipping crate or box



A ril 13 1926.

P. FLANSBURG COLLAPSIBLE SHIPPING CRATE OR BOX Filed August 22, 1924 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Pete? Flemsbur g INVENTO ATTORNEY April 13 1926.

P. FLANSBURG COLLAPSIBLE SHIPPING CRATE on BOX Filcd August-22, 1924 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 I Peter Ftansbug IN V EN TOR.

ATTORNEY lapsed sides andends. 1 A. still further purpose is the provision of 1 Patented Apr. 13, 1926.

"UNITED. STA

TES

T NT PETER ELANsBUEe, 0E MAnIs'rEE, MICHIGAN. v

V ooLnArsIBLE SHIPPING 01mm on BOX.

Applicatioirfiled Au ustea, 1924. Serial No. 733,605.

To (LU whom it may concern .1,

Be it known that PETER FLANSBURG, a citizen of the United States, residing at Manistee, in the county of Manisteeand State of Michigan, has invented new and useful Improvements in Collapsible Shipping Crates or Boxes, of which the following is a specification.

It is a purpose of the present invention to provide, in a collapsibleshipping crate or box, a construction wherein the sides are collapsible diagonally toward each other while the ends are collapsible respect vely and hingedly toward the sides, the top and bottom lying flat while the collapsed sides and ends assume positions intermediate the top and bottom, enabling the crate or box to be arranged in'small compass, sothat a number of crates or boxes may bepiled one upon another.

Another purpose is to provide a crate in cluding channel members for holding the slats or pieces of the sides, ends, top and bottom together, there being wire hinges operatively connecting the channel members of the sides and ends for hingedly connecting them, whereby they may be collapsed in the manner previously stated.

' A further purpose is to provide'improved n'ieansconsisting of channels and wires for hingedly connecting the top and bottom to the sides, said wires being detachable to permin the; top and bottomlto be placed in registration with each other. underneath the cola crate or-box which is constructedto permit the crate or boX tocollapse and he outflat. The top of the crate or box 'l'lay be detached so that it can be arrangedto one side, the" bottom being detachable, allowing the top to be disposed under or on top of the bottom, thereby permitting the sides and ends of the crate to be collapsed and disposed in a col lapsed position on the top andbottom, in which condition the crate canbe shipped or transmitted to the sender.

It is to be understood that theparticulars i herein given are in no way limitative and 0 that, while still keeping within. the scope of the invention, any desired modifications of detail and desired proportions maybe madein the apparatus according to the circumstances.

The invention comprises'further features resting upon the top, with the sides and ends collapsed in positions on the upper face of the bottom. 1

Figure dis a perspective view showing the top and bottom detached at the upper and lower portions of the front of thecrate, al-

lowing the top and bottom. to be laid out fiat and the sides and ends of the crate collapsed Figure 5 is alongitudinal sectional view on line 5-5 of Figure 1.

Figure 6 is a transverse sectional view on line 66 of Figure 1.

Figure 7 is an enlarged detail perspective view of one corner of the crate, "showing clearly the hinge connection between a side and end.

igure 8 is an enlarged detail view of the. hlnge connection between the longitudinal edges of the top or bottom and thesides.

Figure 9 is a detailperspective view of one s of the channel cleats. d Referring to the drawings, ldesignates the crate or box as awhole and which comprises the sides 2 and 3, the ends 4 and the bottom and top 5 and 6. j The sides and ends consist of slats 7 and 8., and 9 and 10 denote,

channel cleats. The channel cleats 9 receive the ends of the slats 7 The cleats are constructed of sheet metal and are U-shaped and their'bottoms have grooves orchannels 11 and12f i As previously stated, the cleats 9 and 10 are U -shaped and receive the ends of the slats 7 and 8. The fianges of the U-shaped err-"loa cleats are ninched by means of any suitable tool, sufficiently to upset the metal on the inner ends of the flanges of the cleats,'caus ing the metal around where the flanges are punched to form protrusions 13 which embedinto the wood of the flats, thereby connecting the cleats to the slats, making secure fastenings between the cleats and the slats.

channels formed in the bottoms of the cleats. In this way, the sides and'ends of the crate or box are hingedly connected, there being no possible way of disconnecting the wires from the cleats unless it baby extreme pull used for 7 straightening the Wires'or prying. the flanges of the cleats away from the slats, which manner of disconnection would. not be employed unless it maybe desired to destroy the crate entirely, or for the purpose of furnishing new cleats.

The bottom 5 comprises plurality of slats 16 which are connected by sheet metal cleats 17 which are fastened to the slats 16 in a similar manner to the fastening ofthe cleats to the slats of the sides and 1 ends. The top 6 is made up ofa plurality of slats or boards 18 closely adjoining one. another, there 'being; sheet metal U shaped cleats 19 connectingthe boards. The sheet metal cleats 19 are fastened to the boards in a manner similarto the fastening of the cleats to the bottom slats and to the slatsof the sides and ends. 1

Hinge members 20 and 21L (which are U- shaped) are carried by the longitudinal edges of the bottom and top, the fastening of the hinge members consisting of any suitable means, preferably upset portions of the walls of the hinge members. These upset in the wood of the bottom and top. hinge membershave their bottoms provided portions are caused to be'formed by means of suitable punches in the metal to cause protrusions 22 to be formed which embed These with grooves or channels which receive 'lateral arms 23 of U-shaped wires 24: and 25 which are detachably connected to the upper and lower slats of the sides. 7

5 Obviously, by detaching the wires from the slats, the'bottom and top-may be detached from the crate. It is possible to slide the wires onthe slats to disengage the arms from the channels or grooves in the bottoms of the U-shapedhinge members, in which case the bottom and top may be removed.

' By moving the wires at the front av of the crate or box in directions toward each other, that is, longitudinally of the crate, the bottom and top at their adjacent edge-portions maybe detached, allowing the 'top and bottom to lie out fiat,then the sides and ends may be collapsed, the sides toward each other diagonally and the ends toward the sides, as shown in Figure 4.

The top may be detached entirely and dis posed to one side as in Figure 2.

The bottom and top may be detached entirely, the vtopdisposed under the bottom, then the sides'and ends may be collapsed hingedly, the sides toward each other and the endstoward'the sides, and the collapsed sides and ends may then be disposed on the upper face of the bottom. In this condition, the crate may be shipped back to the sender.

The invention having been set forth, what is claimed is:

1. A collapsible crate includin side and end pieces hingedly connectedw iereby the side pieces may collapse diagonally toward each other and the end pieces collapse re spectively at the opposite sides, bottom and engaging the grooves or channels in the bottoms of the U-shaped hinge members.

2; Acollapsible crate including side and end pieces, U-shaped cleats secured tothe adjacent ends of the side and-end pieces, the bottoms of the cleats having grooves and provided with transverse slots, U-shaped hinge members engaging through the slots and having arms engaging in the grooves of the cleats, thereby hingedly connecting the sides and ends, and bottom and top pieces detachably hinged'at both of their longitudinal edges to the upper and lower edges of the sides pieces. I

3. A collapsible crate including side and end pieces, U-shaped cleats secured to the adjacent ends of the side and end pieces,

comprising U-shaped hinge members with grooves or channels in their bottoms,. and

U-shaped wire hinge members detachably slidably carriedupon the'upper andlower slats of the side pieces and provided with arms engaging the grooves orchannelsv in the bottoms of the U-shaped hinge members.

In testimony whereof he affixes his signature.

I PETER FLANSBURG. 

